by Megan Buff

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2009

In the past eight years, since I stopped eating meat, I have been keeping a mental list of bad places to be a vegetarian. Montana, Mississippi, and Jordan are top of that list, with Northern Ireland (and much of the UK) not far behind. Much of the standard restaurant fare in these areas is based around meat burgers in Montana, Cajun barbecue in Mississippi, lamb shworma in Jordan, fish and chips in the UK. Nonetheless, it is still possible to visit any of these places, have a good time, eat healthily, and never put something in your mouth that was once alive.

As a general rule, vegetarians have to be more careful about eating a balanced diet. Non-meat foods are not as rich in protein and some vitamins, and this deficiency must be made up. At home, compensation can be made with specialty foods like veggie burgers, powdered protein sources, and peanut butter. But these foods are less available on the road, especially in a foreign country. Travellers are often at the mercy of whatever restaurant happens to be convenient at the end of the day.

The first option for dealing with this problem is carrying your own food on a trip. My father, a very strict vegetarian, always takes several packages of Fig Newtons when he travels. Fig Newtons are relatively healthy, with enough energy to tide him over for half a day or so if he can't find somewhere to eat. As an advantage, he doesn't have to carry the Fig Newtons home with him, which leaves extra room in his suitcase for souvenirs. Packing your own food is a viable option for short-term trips (up to a week or so), especially if you are following a strict diet or if you know your schedule will be too packed to spend time looking for somewhere to eat.

As an alternative, you can usually buy specialty foods at a supermarket upon arrival at your destination. Fig Newtons or peanut butter might be a scarcity in Thailand or even in France but there will probably be some other vegetarian foods available. Many people in the world are vegetarian for varied reasons, from religious to economic to ethical, so most grocery stores will stock at least the very basics of meat-free cuisine.

For the same reason, many restaurants have a vegetarian option or two, or are at least willing to make substitutions and create a meat-free meal. If you are eating entirely from restaurants, as most people do while traveling, you will have to be very conscious of your protein intake. In an ideal situation, you would consume protein from several different

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